About 'Healthy Active Australia' Community and Schools Program

The Healthy Active Australia Community and Schools grants were advertised on 12 May 2007 and applications closed on 26 June 2007. The Program provides grants between $10,000 and $200,000 for projects of up to 18 months, to not-for-profit organisations to undertake healthy eating and physical activity initiatives at the local level. The program will benefit the whole community as well as assist at-risk target groups (such as children, adolescents, young women, families in lower socio-economic and rural/remote areas and Indigenous communities) to increase physical activity and healthy eating and promote healthy living at the ‘grassroots’ level in Australian communities and schools.

The Program attracted over 2000 submissions requesting over $200 million of funds which demonstrates how important the community believes the issues of healthy eating and physical activity are.

On Friday 12 October 2007 the then Minister for Health and Ageing announced grants totalling over $37 million for 320 community organisations under the Grants Program, as part of the Australian Better Health Initiative (ABHI). For information about this announcement visit the ‘First Announcement of Grants’ section of this website.

On 15 August 2008, the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Nicola Roxon announced grants totalling over $17.6 million for 190 schools and community organisations under the Grants Program.